Developer Jim York might have to cross off yet another idea from his running list of possibilities for the largely vacant coastal Rancho Palos Verdes land he’s controlled for nearly 15 years.

York – who has a long history of conflict with neighbors in the Portuguese Bend community and with the city – learned this week that his plans to hold outdoor weddings and events on his 94-acre “Point View” property may have met a dead end.

That’s because a long-standing nonprofit women’s fundraising group on The Hill, Las Candalistas, dropped its appeal of a city decision that brought York’s plans to a halt. With no appeal on the books and the time period for filing one expired, York is out of luck, city officials said.

“It’s final and now it’s policy,” said senior planner Eduardo Schonborn of the rejection of his plans.

At issue is one of the last large privately owned properties in Rancho Palos Verdes. The hilly, brush-covered expanse offers sweeping ocean views – a place York sees as the perfect wedding backdrop.

But the land is next to the gated, horse-friendly Portuguese Bend community, which has long sought to maintain its eclectic, semi-rural atmosphere and has regularly fought development plans.

On top of that, a large part of York’s residentially zoned acreage is on the site of an ancient landslide, and that’s meant York has been unable to fulfill his ultimate vision: a development of luxury homes.

“That’s a big battle. This is like a little skirmish,” York said, comparing his broader plans to his thwarted “event garden.”

York began improving his property earlier this year – laying down sod, and putting in a stone-floored dance area and a bride’s changing room. His planting of more than an acre of avocado trees brought him into conflict with city codes, and he has torn half of them out.

The installation of a water line and a paved road on part of the property have resulted in still-unresolved city code violations.

Then, when he asked the city earlier this year if he could apply for a permit to hold regular events on the land – up to 100 a year, he said – he was told no. His property is zoned residential, and such a commercial use is not allowed, city officials said. A ruling in his favor would have meant any residential property owner in the city could apply for a similar permit.

York appealed that staff decision to the Planning Commission, which held two hearings – the second one after members of the Portuguese Bend community complained they had not been informed of the issue.

“The basic feeling is Jim York has his personal agenda. We’ve had a lot of conflict with him. He pushes and pushes and usually gets what he wants,” said Casey Porter, chairman of the Portuguese Bend Community Association.

Porter said the association had been seeking to get along better with York, who gave the community a demonstration of the noise level from potential events.

“We’ve been trying to work with him rather than butt heads,” Porter said. “But then on the other hand, we got a lot of flak from our neighbors saying we were in cahoots with him. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”

Before the Planning Commission, York claimed he had support of the association board, but Portuguese Bend residents – who showed up en masse to protest the developer’s plans – said that was untrue.

When the commission voted in September against York, Las Candalistas filed an appeal. That put the group in the middle of the ongoing discord between York and Portuguese Bend residents.

Las Candalistas, which has held its annual spring “Walk on the Wild Side” fundraiser for 40 years, hoped to return to having the event on York’s property. The elaborate two-day luncheon hasn’t been held there since 1999, according to Daily Breeze records. This past April, it was held on the grounds around City Hall.

But the appeal on York’s behalf generated a lot of heat for the group, which is an institution on The Hill.

“They got quite a few phone calls from their own members and the community as well,” said Porter, noting that a number of Las Candalistas members live in Portuguese Bend.

“Somehow Jim York sweet-talked them a little into jumping in on it before they understood all the consequences,” Porter added.

Las Candalistas board members referred calls about the conflict to Chairwoman Dita Luntz, who did not return a message left for comment. One board member said the issue had “become extremely controversial,” resulting in “a lot of unpleasant stuff.”

In a letter sent to the city Tuesday revoking the appeal, Luntz wrote: “It was never our intention to be involved with land-use issues.”

The matter had been set for a hearing early next month.

York said residents of Portuguese Bend had put pressure on Las Candalistas.

“The Portuguese Bend community doesn’t want anything to be done. They want it be back like it was in the 1800s,” York said. “It’s the epitome of a NIMBY neighborhood.”

York, who said he was “shocked” when he learned Las Candalistas had revoked its appeal, plans to try to get the group to resume its petition. At a visit to City Hall this week, York was told it was too late for him to submit an appeal in his own name.

“It is outrageous that Rancho Palos Verdes does not have a mechanism to reinstate the appeal,” York said. “This is a communitywide land-use issue that needs to be heard by the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council.”

Schonborn, the city planner, said the only remaining option for York was to get a special-use permit for individual events – at a cost of $2,015 each.

York has balked at that.

But he should soon have plenty of cash on hand. York’s deal to sell 161 acres and donate another 30 to the city – for $6.5 million – is expected to go through by the end of the month.